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I had targeted around Chadron, NE
this day near a meridional differential heating zone along the edge of
morning stratus. Normally this wouldn't be a rational target except
today there was a NWerly component to the upper flow. Model data progged
the best moisture well south near Sterling, CO, but the better bulk
shear would reside near Chadron. Add in hesitation on my part to
drive any farther south than necessary and I ended up with a pleasant surprise
this day not far from Chadron!
After the cap broke, measly showers (no thunder at all) ensued just east of Chadron. They never organized and I debated flying south to catch a TOR warned storm near LBF. I later passed on that idea and decided to wait for any redevelopment. A short while later I noticed a meager updraft base take shape to my west and was intrigued by the distant roll of thunder. This was actually a storm! Here is the storm well after its modest start. |
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Inflow tag slowly expanding
SEward.
This whole chase was performed along HWY 250 south of Rushville thanks in large part to the storm having turned SSE at only ~10 knots. That morning stratus boundary had likely assisted this storm in acquiring greater SRH. 1637 MDT |
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Now looking NW. Earlier, I met another chaser with his son who was also very interested in this storm's development. We chatted for a while and then split south to keep ahead of this. I was finding it difficult to get a good view of the horizon, so I found a hill to climb up and just soak in the view. It's nice to be able to pull over and watch a supercell for more than 15 minutes at a time without having to constantly pack up and drive! |
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Rather explosive updraft
column at this point in addition to a well defined anvil edge. I
guess this LP supercell wanted to make a fashion statement by sporting
an afro!
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Inflow tag became visible again all the while the base began rotating quite hard. |
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About 5 min later this
humble funnel developed.
As would be common for me this year during critical periods of a chase, my cell phone coverage was dismal and I couldn't pass this on to NWS-LBF until much later in the chase. I really need to stop procrastinating about buying a cell amp and just do it already. 1713 MDT |
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Well so much for modesty! The funnel had widened substantially and now occupied a fair amount of the storm's base. |
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Four minutes after
the funnel developed it looked as if it was going to descend further; but
it was not to be. No debris noticed whatsoever.
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The storm now looked much more typical of a High Plains' LP supercell. There was still plenty of low level inflow into the lowered base, but the remaining wall clouds showed only weak rotation. |
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Aside from the chaser
and son I met early on, I did not see another chaser along the way.
This is pretty rare for late May especially with a supercell close to a
lone highway.
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Gradual demise underway, but this
supercell and its liberty bell structure still made for a beautiful scene.
1815 MDT |
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The supercell lasted
almost three hours before calling it quits. While driving some scenic
back roads to my motel, I saw a rare accident involving a hawk.
The hawk was flying very low to the ground alongside the road and seemed
intent on catching a meal hiding in the grass. Well the laws of natural
selection were certainly in play today as this hawk ended up flying, at high speed mind you, directly
into a barbed wire fence. I couldn't believe what
happened, but felt compelled to stop for a closer look. Here's a
photo
of the carnage (viewer discretion advised--no joke).
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